Blog 535 9 July 2026

This will be a different one, because it will cover a bit of councilloring with a week of leisure in between.

So I go back to Thursday 26th of flaming June. There were times during June when we called it flaming in a way some less prim people use another f word. I went to Lambert Lodge to talk to a resident with certain woes which I will keep private. Productive I hope, though the matter still needs work. I had an excellent cup of tea though.

Saturday 27th because it started with a cycle trip up to Heston for the AGM of the Heston Action Group https://www.hestonactiongroup.co.uk/ I have worked with this exemplary community organisation for several years and it is a pleasure to see them again. They do so much to improve Heston and used to give me a hard time when I was on Cabinet. My Green colleague Jasmine is a long-time volunteer with the misnamed HAGs and a lot of the best people around in Hounslow spoke - Katherine Dunne and Karen Liebreich amongst them.

The HAGs do a lot of different things but I selected this garden area which they have created with their volunteers where once there was just a rather neglected field.

Back to Brentford for the Pub regatta. Another great success like last year. Wot, no pics? I must have forgotten 😮

On Sunday I went to the Musical Museum to see a talented man driving the Mighty Wurlitzer who disappeared into the floor as if by magic.

Looks like it was empty but people were getting drinks etc. I wasn't sure about Buster Keaton - my favourite was the Keystone Cops - but it was a great afternoon with a lot of laughs.

Then I was off on my travels to Wales and oop North which I covered in part last week in what I called a Mini-blog which you can read here if you're seriously bored. https://manage.wix.com/dashboard/62b50394-8ef2-40c6-94e5-39ef12a8cd33/blog/bdd31037-0141-47a1-b22b-f11ce652fc0c/edit

If I ever catch up withmy emails etc I will probably add a second chapter to that.

Back in Brilliant on Sunday, my first engagement was in Hatton Fields. I have missed the Heavy Horses, but Jasmine and I had a guided tour with the charming and passionate chair of Friends of Hatton Fields, Clare Searle https://friendsofhattonfields.co.uk/ There has been a review going on with inspectors recently looking at Hounslow's Local Plan. This finished recently and 'in due course' (as government people say when they don't want to give a date) they will eventually publish their conclusions. I have known for a long time there is a proposal to allow warehousing etc to be developed there. It is a huge site - by London standards - right across the A30 from Heathrow so the temptation is obvious. As Greens we are instinctively resistant to development and clearly the Friends are too. As I am obliged not to, I will not make my mind up about any planning applications until I see what is proposed. My sense is that this area certainly merits protection, but I'd like consideration given to using it more widely for the benefit of residents in Hatton (and elsewhere).

There is a lot of quite wild sections there that I think we should cherish and protect. I feel a discussion with Salman Shaheen (whose novel has just been nominated for an award https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/debut-novel-by-hounslow-councillor-salman-shaheen-recognised-in-international-book-awards-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawS8OmJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEex4x2FwPceOf2oGFjxoMb37FVnQW2eauYYpMAM9vZQxDCSXZIED6rZ9cEfHc_aem_yXaaE_MqqxPFX1jZJaoNbg

A lot of talent in Brentford!

On Tuesday via Zoom I attended the London Healthy Streets Scorecard launch event. This is a London Mayor initiative and helps boroughs (and the City!) to see what all 32 boroughs are up to, how well they are doing and what other boroughs can learn.

A lot of data and a lot to get my head around and as far as I can see the data has not been updated on the website yet. I have a lot of pics I took of the slides, more as a reference than anything else. Hounslow tends to be mid-table in the rankings and of course there's a sharp distinction between (say) Westminster where public transport is very available and cars very hard to park or move in, and (say) Upminster where I once lived and the environment and transport is quite different.

Back to 'My' Lodge on Wednesday. A lot of hot older people living there and some of their flats are uncomfortably and sometimes dangerously overheated. We really need to be working on improving this site (which in many respects is very nice indeed) to get it provides a comfortable and safe home for people who are by definition in need of careful care. People are pretty grumpy about the temperature, but also because they find the support given by staff is inadequate after cuts over recent years and a shortage of people. I will be following this up.

Other things I'm working on: coming past our iconic police station there were 3 cop cars and a meat van outside. Couldn't see any cops until I saw one disappearing down a staircase into what I suppose is a basement I didn't know existed. Yoofs had been seen (for the umpteenth time) on the roof. There is a repeating cycle here: people get in and mess about, often dangerously; locals note this and report to the police and the council; cops go in and do their thing; council talks to the landowner; landowner makes a small change; youths find another way of getting in and the cycle repeats.

I (and many others) have been saying for years that this site should be boarded up like every other development site I have ever seen in Brentford. That is the only way to stop this infuriating cycle. We used to have that problem on the Alfa Laval building but that has not recurred since proper hoardings were erected. But this landlord, supported by people at the council, say hoardings will make things worse. They will do no such thing but would cost the developer a few quid. Much better in their minds to pass the problems and cost on to the council, police and (I fear) the NHS to pick up a much larger bill. Aside from that, the eyesore that the cop shop has been for 20 years is made worse by the repeated flytipping, graffiti, litter and general ASB which is encouraged by providing this attractive open (to pedestrians at least) car park.

And this. Actually it looks rather nice (I like jungle sometimes) but this is the garden of the Brentford Library. The garden is a mess, as it usually ahs been since I have been a concillor. Every now and again there is an effort to improve it, but enough is never done, and what is done is never maintained.

Here's one I saw in Wales last week, in a much less promising site on a roundabout.

 In fact I was struck by the flowers everywhere in Wales, including hanging baskets etc on lamp-posts. We seem to have completely given up on the public realm in Hounslow. Reversing that retreat would make a big improvement to the quality of all our lives.

Some things are beautiful in Brentford though. I was taken bu=y this gorgeous pink sky the other day

A bit shorter I think this week. I do tend to go on about things and as a sinner I am repentant and trying to reform myself (not Reform, ever, which may end up be a bit of history soon like Mr Farage's previous efforts, though no doubt his bank account and property empire will survive)